Why Jonathan Quick is key to Los Angeles’ playoff hopes

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Why Jonathan Quick is key to Los Angeles’ playoff hopes

Los Angeles is on a five-game winning streak and making a serious push for one of the West’s wild-card spots. The reason? They’re finally getting timely saves from goaltender Jonathan Quick.

On the face of things, the Los Angeles Kings have had a nightmarish season. They’re the defending Stanley Cup Champions, have talent top to bottom, but are still struggling to get into one of the two Western Conference wild-card spots.

There have been distractions, such as Slava Voynov’s alleged off-ice actions and the demotion of Mike Richards, and through it all the Kings have not looked quite like themselves.

Over their past five games, however, the Kings have appeared every bit the team that won two Stanley Cups in three seasons (and back-to-back championships in full 82-game seasons, their fans will have you know). So, what has made the difference for the Kings in their past five games? They’re finally getting the stops they need from Jonathan Quick.

In the five games before the Kings began their current streak, Los Angeles scored nine goals and gave up 17 while going 1-4. Those are the kind of streaks that can test even the truest of fans’ patience. But since their Feb. 5 3-2 loss at the hands of the Florida Panthers, the Kings have rattled off five straight victories, outscored their opponents 19-11 and have themselves right back in the playoff picture.

Over the course of 2014-15, the Kings have had the league’s best 5-on-5 Corsi For percentage at 55 percent, second-best Fenwick For percentage at 54.6 and have been in the middle for shooting percentage and save percentage, 7.69 and .922, respectively. When the score is close at 5-on-5, the Kings slip slightly, falling to seventh in Corsi For at 53 percent and eighth in Fenwick For at 52.7. However, they land in the bottom third of the league with a 7.39 shooting percentage and .918 save percentage.

The possession numbers aren’t the concern. And, really, neither is the shooting percentage. What is worrisome, however, is the abysmal save percentage. Unlike prior seasons where the Kings were to be feared on nearly every single night, their goaltending has been the weak spot.

Last season, the Kings were just as futile when it came to scoring at 5-on-5 with the score close. They were the 29th ranked team with a shooting percentage of 5.89, but that was contrasted with a save percentage of .922. Two years prior, their other Cup winning season in 2011-12, the Kings had a 5-on-5 close shooting percentage of 6.36, 29th in the league. That same season, Los Angeles’ save percentage ranked sixth at 5-on-5 close (.934). In both seasons, big saves – or just saves in general – at timely moments were what propelled the Kings to success.

All this is to say that the Kings’ woes aren’t due to anything other than subpar goaltending. They’ve dealt with futile offense for more than a few years now and they’ve had success with their current lineup. Putting even more of the onus on Quick is that when the team really needs to be bailed out – when their possession game isn’t clicking – his game has improved, but not enough to offset the Kings’ issues. Better put, he’s not stealing any games.

Take Los Angeles’ five-game span from Jan. 21 to Feb. 5, for example. The Kings 5-on-5 close Corsi For percentage was an abysmal 46.6 percent. That’s far lower than the normal for the Kings, and it showed in their 1-4 record over that time. On top of it all, their save percentage was in the bottom third of the league at .908. In the five games since, it’s been a complete reversal.

Since Feb. 7, the Kings have a 5-on-5 close Corsi For of 62.9 percent. While having your goaltender play well is key to any team’s success, it’s going to have less of an impact when you have the puck that much more than your opponent. Through the five game winning streak, the Kings have posted a 5-on-5 close save percentage of .925, good for middle of the pack in the NHL. And really, slightly above average goaltending is all Los Angeles needs.

Of goalies that have played 5 games since Feb. 7, Quick has a .921 SP, seventh out of 14 goaltenders. The Kings are 5-0-0 in that time. And while there’s something to be said for run support, the Kings have won consistently with a stingy defense, physical play and incredible puck possession. Those are the main tenets of Los Angeles game. They’re not a team that outscores opponents night in and night out to win.

What hasn’t failed them in the last few seasons is their goaltending, and that has been the case this season. Quick isn’t tested often – he faces the fourth fewest shots per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey. When he is, the Kings simply need him to stop just one more puck. It could be the difference between the playoffs and an early summer.

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Connor McDavid didn’t mince his words when asked post-game about Brandon Manning. He called the Flyers defenseman “classless” and said Manning admitted to injuring him on purpose.

Connor McDavid has had no shortage of head-to-head battles with young stars in the game. There has been outings against Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews and more than handful per year against the Flames duo of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan.

But of all the players Connor McDavid could have had an on-ice feud with, it seems Brandon Manning is the first real rival for the Oilers phenom.

One might recall that it was during the early part of the 2015-16 campaign that Manning, a Philadelphia Flyers blueliner, got tangled up with McDavid as he looked to break in on goal, resulting in McDavid making hard contact with the boards behind the net. The impact with the boards saw McDavid break his collarbone and led to a 37-game absence for the then-rookie.

It was believed to be an unintentional act, something that simply happened as part of the game, and McDavid had even absolved Manning of any blame. That was until last night, more than 13 months after the Nov. 3, 2015 injury to McDavid..

During the Oilers’ hard-fought 6-5 defeat at the hands of the Flyers, McDavid was seen verbally jousting with Manning on a couple of occasions. The most obvious case came after a power play goal by McDavid, where he was seen skating towards Manning and shouting something in his direction.

It didn’t end there, though. Post-game, the Oilers captain went in on Manning, calling the hit that led to the broken collarbone an intentional act.

"I did all I could defending him last year in the media," McDavid said. "Everyone wanted to make a big deal saying he did it on purpose, and he wanted to say some comments today about what went on last year. I thought it was one of the [most] classless things I've ever seen on the ice. He said some things and our guys responded accordingly. I guess we can put the whole 'if he did it on purpose' thing to rest because what he said out there kind of confirmed that. Shows what kind of guy he is when he doesn’t step up and fight some of our guys.”

Shortly after McDavid commented on the incident, Manning fired back saying that he would “never intentionally hurt someone,” and added that’s not the way he plays.

"Anybody who knows me, I play a hard game,” Manning said, according to NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman. “That's the reason I'm here, that's the way I'm in the NHL. I'm not here to score goals like some of those guys. I think I play an honest game, and anyone who knows me knows I play hard and stuff happens out there."

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Coyotes’ Cunningham alert, awake and joking with teammates, but remains in hospital

There’s still no word as to what exactly caused Coyotes AHL captain Craig Cunningham to collapse on ice, but the 26-year-old was in contact with teammates and cracking jokes earlier this week.

More than two weeks after collapsing on the ice ahead of an AHL game between the Coyotes and Jets AHL affiliates, news has come that Craig Cunningham is starting to get back to his old self.

According to Tucson’s KVOA, Cunningham spoke with two teammates, Brandon Burlon and Christian Fisher, via FaceTime earlier this week, and both said that things are starting to look up for the 26-year-old Cunningham.

Fisher added that it was nice to see Cunningham, the captain of the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate Tucson Roadrunners, smiling again. But he wasn’t just smiling, he was also trying to have a good time with his teammates while hinting that he wants to get back on the ice.

“He was cracking jokes just as if he were here the next day," Fisher told KVOA. "It was pretty funny. He said he wanted us to come pick him up and take him to the rink. He was joking around. Stuff like that.”

The mystery still remains as to what caused Cunningham’s collapse, however. It came just moments before the game was set to start and resulted in medical staff in the building cutting away his equipment in order to attend to him. Cunningham ended up leaving the ice on a stretcher, was transported to hospital and he remained in critical but stable condition for much of the past two weeks.

Still, though, Burlon and Fisher said that there’s no “definitive answer” as to what caused Cunningham’s medical emergency. That’s more than all right with both players, too, so long as Cunningham’s health is starting to look up.

"What we do know is that he is doing well and we are moving forward here," Fisher told KVOA. "Hopefully, he will start the road to recovery now.”

Cunningham has suited up for 319 AHL games over the course of his career, netting 101 goals and 203 points, as well as scoring an additional three goals and eight points in 63 NHL games. He was drafted 97th overall by the Bruins in 2010, but was picked up by Arizona off waivers from Boston during the 2014-15 season.

John Tavares scores with a move no one had ever done before

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John Tavares scores with a move no one had ever done before

The New York Islanders captain undressed Jay Bouwmeester in the most unusual of ways, but the important thing is he kept the puck. Then he buried it

John Tavares: good at hockey.

The New York Islanders captain pulled off an absolutely stunning series of moves last night, culminating in a laser-shot goal against St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen. But let's get back to his humbling of Olympic gold medallist Jay Bouwmeester, because that's where the real magic happened.

Witness, as Tavares puts his stick behind his back and grabs it with his other hand while still skating and fending off Bouwmeester. Then, since he is a patient boy, Tavares waits and waits and waits before firing one top corner on Allen:

As the soccer folks would say, lovely. New York would go on to beat the Blues 3-2, with Anders Lee scoring the other two goals for the Isles. After struggling to begin the season, New York is now 6-2-2 in its past 10 games. Tavares leads the squad with 21 points through 26 contests.

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ECHL defenseman Anthony Calabrese is “lucky to be alive” after a “careless, reckless” hit, and Tyler Murovich, who delivered the blow, has been given a 12-game suspension as a first-time offender.

There are few plays scarier than seeing a player hit from behind and sent headfirst into the boards. That kind of play is made that much harder to watch when knowing the severity of the injury suffered.

During an ECHL contest on Nov. 24 between the Norfolk Admirals and Atlanta Gladiators, ECHL veteran Tyler Murovich delivered an incredibly dangerous shove to the back of Anthony Calabrese, a 24-year-old defenseman who’s only 12 games into his ECHL career.

The result of the hit was frightening. Calabrese was left laying face down on the ice, near motionless. The Admirals rearguard would eventually be placed on a stretcher, taken from the ice and transported to hospital.

That may seem harsh to some given that Murovich is a first-time offender, but given the severity of Calabrese’s injury, it actually seems like a somewhat light punishment.

As a result of the hit, Calabrese suffered broken C7 and T1 vertebrae. In simpler terms, he broke both his neck and his back. Oh, and he also punctured his lung. In fact, Calabrese told The Virginian-Pilot’s Jim Hodges that doctors told the young center that he’s “lucky to be alive.”

“It was a miracle, and they say I’m going to make a full recovery,” Calabrese told Hodges. “It’s going to be a long road, but I’d rather be alive than be in a wheelchair the rest of my life.”

What helped Calabrese escape with his life, he told Hodges, was advice he had gotten early in his career from a high school coach. Calabrese was taught that if he was ever going into the boards head first to lift his chin and turn to the side in an attempt to avoid taking the brunt of the impact with the top of his head.

“That’s honestly the only thing that registered in my mind when I was going in: at the last minute, pick my head up,” Calabrese told Hodges. “I remember picking my head up and turning it to the right.”

Thankfully, doctors told Calabrese that he can eventually return to the ice and that the injuries suffered from the hit won’t cost him his career. His spinal cord, he told Hodges, wasn’t damaged due to the hit. And, as hard as it may be to believe, doctors said it was the “best possible break” in a situation such as Calabrese’s.